Lurker coming out: CS in NY?

weddingbells2010

Hi ladies,

I've been lurking here for a few days b/c my best friend is going through some drama and I don't really know the legalities of how she can move forward.  I thought some of you might be more knowledgeable.

My BFF has a 12 year old severely autistic son.  She has been a single mother the whole time- pregnant at 16, baby's father never really stepped up.  Her son's father got married to someone else about 4 years ago and now has 5 kids with new wife (4 are his with her, one is hers from another relationship).  He has since completely cut out the little contact he did occassionally have with his first son (my BFFs).  Although BFF threatened to persue legal action for CS over the years, she always felt like having a father figure in her son's life was more important so as long as he spent time with DS she often let go of the issue.  Since he's been married and had other children, though, and the little contact has stopped (honestly it's probably for the best b/c he's a huge d-bag and treats everyone like crap, including his kids). She's been trying to at least get financial support.  Since her son is severely autistic and has a lot of needs, including year-round schooling and bussing, specialized after-school care, etc... and he's getting older, the costs are really adding up.  Over the years, her parents have helped her but her step mother passed away a few years ago and her father is struggling, emotionally and financially, since the loss.  He's really not in a position to help much anymore.  

Here's the long and short of it: When she finally went to family court to pursue a CS arrangement, she was granted something like $50 a month because of his other children and the fact that his family is on welfare.  The kicker, though, is that they are on welfare because his new wife was on welfare before they were married.  He works, but off the books, so the authorities do not know about his income.  She is torn about turning him in because she wants to do what's best for her son, but it will definitely affect the other 5 children involved if the authorities pursue him for fraud or take away their welfare.

Are any of you familiar with the CS system in NY? What can I suggest for her or help her with in order to move forward? She saw an attorney at one point but really can't afford to retain one going forward so she's relying on whatever we can figure out on our own..

thanks for reading!